New Leader at Little Rock

Meeting Frank Cuervo

(St. Louis, MO) – Frank Cuervo is the new leader at Little Rock. Cuervo brings a vast amount of experience with him to the Ohio Valley Conference school. Little Rock’s new Director of Athletics was most recently the Deputy AD at Illinois Chicago and has worked in both ‘power conference’ situations and with several ‘mid-major’ programs.

Cuervo worked in the private sector for marketing companies that performed marketing and fund-raising tasks for college sports programs and was a college baseball player. He’s perfectly suited for this important job.

Cuervo is excited about his new mission in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has found the Trojan community to be welcoming, inviting and filled with potential.

 

 

After helping Illinois Chicago land its new basketball coach Rob Ehsan, Cuervo headed south to join the Little Rock leadership team. While Cuervo cares about all parts of Trojan athletics, he is certainly bullish about both the men’s and women’s basketball Trojans. He believes women’s coach Joe Foley and men’s coach Darrell Walker are outstanding leaders.

 

 

Walker led the men’s team to 21-13, 14-4 record tying for first place in the OVC. Foley guided the women’s team to a 12-18, 11-7 mark and has amassed over 400 UALR victories.

New Leader at Little Rock – Individual Athletes

Directors of Athletics have to think about budgets, NIL money, scheduling, academic measurements, university agendas, but one of the things that stands out when speaking with Cuervo is his interest in individuals.

He cares about people, as people.

Cuervo hasn’t taken up Arkansas residence or office space yet. He spoke to us from his old office at UIC, but he has immersed himself in the people, the culture and the accomplishments of people in Little Rock. Cuervo believes that people are truly his business.

 

 

While many, including me have been upset at the ‘portal pandemic’, Cuervo can see this ‘disruption’ ending up with a silver lining. Cuervo notes that most college athletes are attending school on partial scholarships and NIL could help a wide and diverse group of athletes.

He adds, fans and supporters now can have a very direct affect on the a university’s ability to compete. Fan support will now go beyond going to games and buying a jersey, but also being a part of NIL collectives.

 

 

As of this writing there are roughly 1,400 men’s college basketball players in the transfer portal.

 

The Ohio Valley Conference

Changing from one Valley to another and leaving UIC wasn’t easy. Cuervo loved his time in Chicago and had previously worked with both women’s basketball coach Ashleen Bracey and new men’s coach Rob Ehsan at Alabama-Birmingham. Not only was the time and the job a good fit, but Cuervo is excited about the OVC.

He respects the leadership of Commissioner Beth DeBauche and the presidents and chancellors of the OVC membership. Cuervo says DeBauche is moving the OVC in the right direction in terms of scheduling and league growth plans. His previous history at Southeast Missouri gave him a clear view of the OVC.

 

 

Mr. Cuervo discussed his mentors, experience in other fields his own athletic history. He believes UALR can be successful in the OVC and on the national scene. The new leader at Little Rock believes UALR can be a pace setter in the OVC.

Here is our entire interview with Frank Cuervo! 

Look for the confident new leader at Little Rock to accomplish exciting things.

Do Good